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Becoming pregnant on sick leave

22 replies

Hellobee · 11/01/2020 23:04

I've been signed off for stress/anxiety twice in 2019 on long term sick for 4 months and then returned to work for 2 months then now been off 1 month. I've also been vomitting a lot and a pregnancy test is positive. I am due back this and feel like i can't cope. I was about to resign but being pregnant means that i need my maternity pay so plan to work until I have my baby. Question i wish to ask is if i should get signed off again for pregnancy related illness or continue on stress related issue? I'm scared i will be sacked as I have had a lot of sickness pasy year
Prior to 2019 i had no long term sickness and never had any warnings.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 11/01/2020 23:15

The wages you get in weeks 17-25 of pregnancy determines the 90% part of SMP. Is it statutory sick pay or so you get more as SSP is less than the lower limit to get SMP? To be eligible for SSP you need to be earning on average £118 per week in week 17-25.

dementedpixie · 11/01/2020 23:16

Sorry, i mean for SMP you need to earn £118 per week

converseandjeans · 11/01/2020 23:19

I think you should quit the job. You're being really unfair on your employer.

Hellobee · 11/01/2020 23:37

@converseandjeans Do you really lol? Well, that isn't what I asked and its not going to happen! As if you know my employer and the way they've treated me.

Geez there is always one. Happy new year to you too

OP posts:
Hellobee · 11/01/2020 23:40

Thank you for that info @dementedpixie

OP posts:
Hellobee · 11/01/2020 23:41

@converseandjeans and i hope you never go through what i did.

OP posts:
cabbageking · 11/01/2020 23:53

If you get SSP weeks 17 to 25 you won't qualify for SMP.

If you use your max of 28 weeks SSP it will stop. You need to work out when this is and look at returning to work or applying for ESA.
I suggest it will stop before your qualifying period starts

You need to look at Maternity allowance and if you qualify for this.
You need to check when your SSP stops and see if you need to claim something else.

converseandjeans · 12/01/2020 08:33

hellobee

I was about to resign but being pregnant means that i need my maternity pay

Sorry to hear you have had a difficult time - but you were about to resign & now don't want to because you need the money. So essentially you plan to be off work & paid but don't plan to go in and actually do any work! I have no idea what your job is but why should an employer pay you when you are 1. Not there 2. Have no plans to go in 3. Were going to resign but now won't because you need the money.

Presumably someone is having to carry your workload at work? What you're essentially asking is how to best make sure you get paid without actually going in!

zoobincan · 12/01/2020 08:38

You are determined to stick the boot in converse aren't you?

OP I would look into whether maternity allowance would apply if you remained off sick, I don't know the details myself but I remember it being mentioned before for something similar.

Please don't go back to work if you are not able to, if you need to be off then be off. Your health and that of baby will always be the most important factor.

Congratulations

HermioneWeasley · 12/01/2020 08:44

Are you sick? If you are too sick to work you should be signed off for that reason and the employer then has to manage that

If you are not too sick to work then you should go in and do your job.

If you lie to be signed off sick because you don’t want to work but do want maternity pay, then you are part of the problem of employers either being sceptical about mental illness or finding pregnant women a hassle.

zoobincan · 12/01/2020 08:52

It says in the OP she is due back but feels like she can not cope. Did you miss that or just choose to ignore it so you could have a pop about the possibility of OP lying?

flowery · 12/01/2020 10:09

”I was about to resign but being pregnant means that i need my maternity pay so plan to work until I have my baby.” Your maternity pay is going to require you to actually go back to work.

”Question i wish to ask is if i should get signed off again for pregnancy related illness” Do you have a pregnancy-related illness?

”...or continue on stress related issue?” Talk to your GP, he or she should be able to assess whether you are fit for work, and if not, what the condition is. If he/she felt you were fit for work then the simple fact of a positive pregnancy test probably won’t change that, but if you’re not fit, they will sign you off.

”I’m scared i will be sacked as I have had a lot of sickness pasy year” You’re probably unlikely to be sacked if you tell them you’re pregnant.

Hellobee · 12/01/2020 13:10

Thank you to those who have provided helpful replies.

I requested Occupational health referral a month ago and still not been sent an appointment...why do you think this might be?

Wow, it's shocking how many folks have nothing better to do than come here to gaslight those who need help.

OP posts:
flowery · 12/01/2020 13:21

”I requested Occupational health referral a month ago and still not been sent an appointment...why do you think this might be?”

No one here will know that. If yours is the kind of workplace where you can just request an OH appointment yourself and don’t need management approval or anything, and you then get given an appointment, how long does it normally take to come through?

Hellobee · 12/01/2020 14:02

Employees are able to request OH appointments & it usually takes a week or less as its a large internal department.

OP posts:
Mums1234 · 12/01/2020 14:06

I recognise you're under a lot of stress/anxiety and vomiting is awful, but I don't think you were being gaslighted.

flowery · 12/01/2020 14:07

Ok well follow it up with whoever deals with it and ask what the delay is.

zoobincan · 12/01/2020 14:38

I requested Occupational health referral a month ago and still not been sent an appointment...why do you think this might be?

Admin error?

Call and ask

AlexaShutUp · 12/01/2020 14:52

Surely, if you need to be signed off due to sickness, you should be signed off for whatever is actually causing that sickness. From what you've said, it doesn't sound as if you have a pregnancy-related illness, other than a bit of morning sickness, which is pretty normal. If that's the case, then you can't really get signed off for that. Obviously, if the vomiting is more severe (like HG), then that's a different scenario.

If it's actually your mental health that is making you unable to work, then you should get signed off for that reason. However, given the amount of time that you've had off to date, your employer may well start to question the sustainability of your employment. What were you hoping to get from the OH appointment? Are there specific reasonable adjustments that your employer could make that would facilitate your return to work.

Obviously, you'll be aware that pregnancy-related sickness cannot count against you in the same way as normal sickness absence, and perhaps that's why you're considering whether you could get signed off for this reason. However, please don't pursue this option unless you actually have a pregnancy-related illness, as it's taking the piss if you don't, and making things harder for other women in the process.

Strawberryorangess · 12/01/2020 14:58

What pregnancy-related illness do you have?

converseandjeans · 12/01/2020 18:47

Well if you have a pregnancy related illness then legally your employer has to be really careful about discipline procedures and redundancy. So if your aim is to keep the job and get paid then probably go with the pregnancy related issue. However I did have to work for a certain amount of time after maternity otherwise I would have had to pay it all back. So you will at some point have to go in after baby is born.

dementedpixie · 12/01/2020 18:48

You only need to go back after maternity if you had enhanced maternity pay rather than SMP. You dint pay any SMP back

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